Unprepared
by Sorida
Summary: [Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja] Nothing, not even the Nomicon, could prepare him for this moment. Sometimes, being the Ninja was too much of a burden to bare. Darkfic! Feedback please?
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: No amount of training could ever prepare him for what he had to do. He couldn't do it, but he had to. For the sake of everyone's safety, he would have to. But nothing, not even the Nomicon, could have prepared him to kill another human being._

_A/N: The idea came up when I was sketching some RC9GN stuff. If a person is stanked, the thing they hold most dear makes them a monster. What if the thing they hold most dear isn't a physical item? Heh, I'm totally angsting up this fandom. :3_

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The roars of the monster were drowned out by his tumultuous thoughts. Nothing was registering to him. The monster swayed slightly on its paws, sizing up its competition before attacking. It pained Randy to think of her as an "it", but he had to dehumanize her somehow. He had to convince himself that this monster wasn't human anymore and couldn't think like a human or act like a human...

Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the task at hand. He was just trying to delay the inevitable. He knew being the Ninja had its downsides, but this in particular was beyond cruel. This was plain evil.

The katana was held in a vice grip. Randy mused that his knuckles would probably be white right now had he been able to see them. His arms faltered. Maybe this was a huge, cruel trick McFist was trying to pull. Maybe Viceroy had him trapped under some super science-y dream simulator to make him live through this nightmare. Maybe the ruthless monster was a hologram meant to throw off his focus and a real robot was behind him for a sneak attack.

The neon arrows and notes said otherwise. One bright green scribble in particular caught his attention. "Save them!" it seemed to scream before disappearing with the rest of the Nomicon's magical hoard of reminders. All of the arrows were pointing to the beast's head.

Her name was Maddie Coughlin. She was a soft spoken senior, an introvert. Every time Randy caught sight of her walking the halls of Norrisville High, she held a black sketch pad under her arm. He didn't know the specifics of what happened, but some shoob decided to grab the drawings and rip her best pencil sketch in half. For the first time in her history at Norrisville, she screamed insults (incredibly vulgar and harsh ones much to Randy's surprise) at her assailants. Mixed in with the cursing was the source of her paranoia: she had needed the picture for her portfolio. It was only a matter of time until the Sorcerer caught wind of her despair.

She destroyed half the school and nearly killed the student that had harassed her. Randy noticed when a pencil whizzed by his ear and smashed through the window. When she came rampaging through his classroom, Mrs. Driscoll promptly fainted while every other student panicked and ran for it. Howard managed to drag Driscoll to the door. "Cunningham, not to rush you or anything but there's a giant monster destroying the school. Call back when you get the chance, 'kay thanks BYE!" Ignoring his friend's usual sarcasm, he donned the mask and became Norrisville's idolized ninja.

"Ok, pencils as weapons? I mean, I didn't see that coming but it's a little on the lame side if you catch my drift," he commented. The monster seemed to listen to the criticism, pure green eyes sizing up the competition. She had a cat-like appearance, long claws and everything. The pencils were mounted on her tail and her brown messenger back hung around her neck. Unlike the other stank-ified students he'd had to fight, this one seemed to be aware of her surroundings. It unnerved him to say the least.

"Alright, it looks like you know what I'm saying," Randy said, taking small steps towards her. "So why don't you just show me what your most treasured thing is and we can get this all over with. How's that sound?" Apparently, she didn't like that. With a roar, the predator charged at its prey. With a shout of "Ninja dodge!" Randy leapt out of the way as the monster ran through the windowed wall. Well, that made protecting the rest of the school a bit easier. Outside battles were far less damaging than the inside ones.

Jumping through the hole, he noticed that Maddie was just picking herself off of the ground. Shaking her head, she turned her head side to side. "Um…what the juice are you doing?" The voice of the ninja caught her attention. Turning to the red and black clad figure, she anxiously pawed at the ground.

'_I didn't want this!' _she thought, clenching her eyes shut. _'Stop this, please STOP IT!'_ Letting out another roar of frustration, a smaller creature literally popped into existence. As in, there was this popping noise (kind of like a Snapple cap but, like, ten times louder) and this little…thing appeared. The beast was reptilian in nature, complete with head spikes, a tail, two horns on its head and sharp little fangs. "Again, I ask: what the juice?!" Randy asked to no one in particular. This had never happened before. Was that little thing part of the stank monster? Could he ignore it and continue fighting the original one? On one hand, he could zone out in the Nomicon for a few minutes and get an answer. On the other hand, he could solve it the fun way and just figure it out as he went along. Being Randy, he chose the latter.

Withdrawing the Ninja Sword from deep within the suit (seriously, how did that thing get there?), he poised himself for an attack. Leaping forwards, he shouted "Ninja slice!" and promptly cut through the tiny creature's body. It disappeared in a cloud of green energy, winding a trail around Randy and flowing back to the first monster. "Ok, so it's a part of you," he muttered. As if on cue, three more creatures materialized around him and bared their teeth. "You know, I'd say that's pretty honkin' bruce if these things weren't trying to bite my head off."

The process of slicing and regeneration continued for a few more minutes. Each time Randy tried to gain ground, another swarm of little monsters pushed him back. If he didn't find a way to the lead stank monster, he was going to be slicing these little guys for the rest of high school! In a moment between spawning, he caught a glance at Maddie. Yellow and blue neon arrows lit up around the bestial cat, pointing towards the head region. His eyes widened when he noticed the messenger bag.

"Oh, I get it!" he exclaimed happily. "Her sketch pad is in the bag and that's what turned her into a monster! Wow, I am the cheese!" Ignoring the now angry looking red X's floating across his vision, he jumped into the air. "Ninja flip!" he called out, spinning head over heels towards the front of the beast. "Aaaaaand, ninja cut!" With one slice, the contents of the bag spilled out onto the ground. With a quick stab, he drove the katana through the black cover sketchpad.

Maddie growled.

"Wait, what the juice?" he yelled. Whoa, he'd been saying that _a lot _today. "That totally should have worked! This is just completely wonk! I mean, what else could you hold dear-OW!" Flying backwards, Randy clutched his left side. The cat had swiped at him while he was rambling away. He really should stop doing that…

Flipping himself over into a crouched position, he winced. Chancing a glimpse down, he saw four rips in the ninja suit. Vaguely, he mused if he (or the Nomicon) could fix it. "I need to get my thoughts together," he mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he used his left hand to dig around the seemingly endless pocket space in the red belt. He needed the Nomicon's help. An infuriated roar filled his ears. Looking up, he saw the cat-demon in a crouch. His eyes widened. Even he didn't need a cat expert to tell him what that meant.

"Where are those smoke bombs?" he whispered angrily. There was a growing wetness on the side his right hand was holding and it unsettled him. His left hand fumbled around the pocket, withdrawing four ninja balls. The monster growled.

"Ok, ok, um…let's see…ice? No. Electricity? No…there!" She charged. Trembling fingers gripped the small black and red orb. Panicked, Randy shouted, "SMOKE BOMB!" He heard the frustrated grunts before he disappeared. With a groan, he leaned on one of the few intact lab benches in Mrs. Driscoll's room. "Ugh, that was _so_ wonk…" he murmured to himself.

"You got that right, Cunningham. You just got your butt kicked by a _nerd_." Randy's head shot up in surprise. Turning towards the source of the voice, he groaned.

"Howard," he whined. His bromigo was casually leaning against the destroyed doorframe, objectively staring at his right hand's fingernails. "What the juice are you doing here? Don't you see the insane cat-monster-demon-thing standing outside?"

"Yeah, I watched it destroy Slimovitz's car," Howard commented. He switched positions, propping his arm up on what was left of the wooden frame. "It gets less amusing after the fifth time." Giving Randy a once over, he raised an eyebrow. "Hey, why are you holding your stomach like that? Are you hungry or something 'cause right now's a really bad time for lunch."

"What are you talking about?" Then he remembered. His right hand was still firmly holding his side, where Maddie had…

As he looked down, his eyes widened.

Blood.

There was blood where that cat had clawed at him. Until now, he believed that the suit made him invincible. During monster fights or robot fights, he'd never sustained injury. Sure, there was a bruise here or there from being tossed into a locker or a wall or any other solid surface. Lifting his hand away, he saw three red gashes slowly oozing out his blood. The cloth around the area had been ripped and he could see the Tengu feathers that made up the suit. It was surreal.

_Focus Randy, _he told himself. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he recollected his thoughts. The reason he was here…the Nomicon!

"Howard, I need you to cover for me in case that," he pointed at the rampaging lioness-esque monster outside, "tries to come in here."

"What do I do if it does?" Howard exclaimed. "I don't wanna be kitty chow!"

"I don't know, shake me or something? Do whatever comes into your head first as long as it can wake me up. I think that's how these trances work…" Randy trailed off as he grabbed his backpack. Snatching the Nomicon from within the clutter, he headed over to the lab bench he'd previously been resting on. Setting up a chair, he winced again. Man, those claw wounds really stung. Maybe the suit gave him faster healing or something. It was magic after all.

Before pulling open the cover, he glanced at Howard. His friend gave him an unsteady thumbs-up while his eyes constantly darted towards the window. Without further distraction, Randy opened the ancient book.

The familiar feeling of vertigo gripped his mind as he descended deep into the book's writings. Passing by random fighting techniques, floating paper masks, and the occasional note of "I has ninja rings", the Nomicon finally stopped his spirit in a forest. No "words of wisdom" appeared, so Randy took it as his cue to walk. There was only one straight, narrow path to follow through the trees. As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder why the book was wasting his time by making him _find_ the advice. The messages he received were puzzling enough, why did he have to work to get them?

Before he could take another step, a large neon "X" blocked his path. A glowing arrow joined it, pointing down towards the ground. His eyes followed its path and he stared at his reflection from a small pool of water. Two stone koi fish were perched at the edges of the pool, water flowing out of their mouths.

"Alright Nomicon, it'd be really nice to tell me why I'm here," Randy said as he crossed his arms. Yeah, the place was pretty and peaceful, but he needed to go defeat that monster. Words began to form in the reflecting pool.

_**The world is made of good and evil.**_

_**The virtuous cannot always remain virtuous.**_

_**To save those he holds dear, a ninja must not show mercy to his enemy.**_

_**The world still turns. The sun still rises. The night still falls…**_

_**For it is the cruel fate of the universe.**_

Backing away from the message, Randy felt unsettled. The writing contained very few notations, only a circle around "mercy" and the last line highlighted. Was the book trying to tell him what he thought it was trying to tell him?

It disturbed him. This wasn't the book giving him advice; this was the book teaching him about something far beyond his control. Did past ninjas see this message? If so, how many had come to this place only to be told to do the unthinkable? The Ninja was an idol to the people of Norrisville and nothing horrendous had happened in his lifespan, right? He couldn't handle the pressure.

"Nomicon…are you sure I have to do this?" he asked uncertainly. Something resonated throughout the landscape, the primal roar of a cat of prey. Swiveling on his heels, Randy saw the pictures of a ninja a sphinx. Smaller pictures of demons sprouted out of the ground, the ninja disposing of them in one sword swipe. In a fluid motion, he had plunged the katana through the feline's head. Immediately, green energy exited the wound and the sphinx was replaced with a young girl's body. Her eyes were closed. Withdrawing the sword, the ninja carefully scooped the girl into his arms. Sadly, he carried the body away from the battlefield. The images disappeared in a puff of smoke. Off to the side, there was a picture of the Sorcerer laughing.

Randy couldn't take it.

"Why are you telling me to do this?!" he shouted. "She can't die now…I can't kill someone! Isn't there another way? Please, tell me there's something else I can do!" Two pieces of paper appeared before him. One began drawing out a scene where the ninja had imprisoned the demonic feline. With the help of the tiny monsters, it escaped and wreaked havoc on a village. In the other drawing, it depicted the situation where the ninja refused to fight. It ended in a similar way, except the ninja had perished with the village. There was no way around it. He would have to kill the girl and now he knew why.

Maddie Coughlin had no treasured possessions. At least, none she held higher than her imagination. There were probably millions of thoughts whirling around in that brain of hers. She was bound to get attached to one. So when it came to something she valued above everything else, her imagination was the key. That's why the mini monsters kept showing up. That's why she didn't go back to normal when the sketchpad was destroyed. That's why the Nomicon's arrows were pointing towards not her messenger bag, but her head.

Now he understood. This girl latched onto an idea and held it so close that it became her most treasured possession. To break the idea would break her world. On top of it, he didn't have a clue on _how_ to break someone mentally. Neither option was desirable, but at least death offered closure.

But Randy wasn't a murderer. He didn't want to become one. He didn't want to kill an innocent person who was being manipulated by a higher force. Yet, there was no way around it.

When he became the Ninja, he never asked for this. He wanted to be a hero, but this was asking for too much. But deep in his heart, Randy knew that he had no say in the matter. He wanted to protest, to shout and kick and curse the NinjaNomicon for all it was worth for setting him up for something so devastating. He just wanted to stay in the book and not face the reality, ignore the cries of help coming from his best friend.

Wait…Howard was shouting at him…

"No!" Randy shouted. Suddenly, he felt his spirit being pulled (or pushed) back into his body. Before he completely left the Nomicon, a tendril of golden energy encircled his body. The tip gently touched his left side as another wisp joined it. The second one tapped his forehead and he felt an overwhelming amount of guilt, sadness, comfort and sympathy pour through to his mind. He quickly realized that the Nomicon had travelled this path far too many times. It had seen things he could never imagine. Such an ancient entity confined to a couple hundred pages of text, it really was incredible. In that moment, Randy sent his own reassurance across the strange bond. The Nomicon was the only an essence of the past, yet it would be the only one who could comprehend every conflicting thought darting throughout his mind. They would console one another when the time came.

Now was time for action.

In a flash of light, Randy returned to his body with a gasp. Sitting up straight, he looked over his shoulder as his friend's screams echoed through his ears. Howard was cowering behind a half destroyed lab bench across the room. Hastily shoving the Nomicon back into his backpack, Randy mentally readied himself for the task at hand. But first thing was first, he had to get the cat back outside.

Realizing that his friend returned to reality, Howard offered a shaky smile. "Hey Cunningham," he yelled, "It's about time you joined the party. Now could you do me a favor and GET HER AWAY FROM ME?!" The feline clawed at the thick wood once again, releasing a snarl of frustration. Picking up a piece of debris, Randy threw it at the monster's head.

"Hey, you don't want to eat that!" he shouted, "It's got tiny hands!" Howard gave an indignant shout of "Not cool Ninja!" before Randy continued, "C'mon kitty, you want a challenge, right?" To be honest, it was the only thing he could think of. Not his best plan in the world, but it seemed to work. The monster let out a roar and tracked the Ninja's movements as he bound through the hole in the wall. Jumping after its prey, the lioness landed a good ten feet away from her red and black clad enemy. Howard poked his head up over the pile of debris he was hiding behind. Upon seeing that his attacker was gone, he let out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, a crowd of students began to form around the warring figures. They enthusiastically cheered for the Ninja as their day's worth of entertainment was drawing to a close. Randy clenched his eyes shut, trying in vain to block out the sound. _Please stop_, he silently begged them._ You don't know what I have to do. Please, just go away._

"Yo Ninja, look out!" His eyes flew open. The monster was right above him in mid-air, having jumped the distance between them.

"Ninja roll out of the way!" he shouted, tumbling away from the danger. He vaguely registered that he could move a bit more easily now. As the cat readied to pounce again, the musing automatically left his mind. More tiny demons sprouted to life, now interested in the crowd that was forming. Each growled maliciously, carefully tracking down a potential victim and slowly crawling towards them. The students finally had enough common sense to back away from the fight. Everyone could feel the tension in the air.

Without further hesitation, Randy unsheathed the katana. Keeping it in a vice grip, he steeled himself for dealing the final blow. He tried to focus, tried not to think about it, but every time he would see the shortest senior absentmindedly walking through the hallways of Norriville High. She was just a student…

No, he had to do this. Those little creatures were getting closer to the civilians, too close for comfort. He had to end this now before anyone got hurt. "Ninja sprint!" he shouted, surprising himself at how easily the words came out of his mouth.

Leaning over into a run, he held the sword behind him as he gained ground. "Ninja flip!" He leapt into the air, rotating once before landing behind his bewildered opponent. "Ninja slide!" Pushing off of the ground, he managed to slide across the grass. But before he could extend his sword for the deadly blow, he looked into her eyes. There was pain and suffering behind the pure green orbs. There was recognition and understanding and a pleading gaze that made his heart shutter-

Randy let out a shout of pain as he collided with another section of the grass. A burning agony spread across his chest and he heard the feline snarl and hiss at him. He heard it slowly walk over to him, stopping less than a foot away from his body. Carefully picking himself up into a kneeling position, he realized two things.

Maddie was still in there and trying to fight for control.

She wanted him to kill her.

That was all the closure he needed.

He looked once more into those desperate green eyes, but was surprised to find the depression replaced with sanguine determination. It was as if she was telling him it that everything would be ok, that no blame would be placed on him when everything was over. Before she could completely revert back into a bestial mentality, he uttered the last words she would ever hear.

"Ninja cut." The green energy left her body almost faster than the katana. The now normal teenage girl slumped forwards and into the Ninja's arms. Dropping his weapon, Randy carried the lifeless body in both arms. Sadly, he glanced over her now peaceful face. He knew he would never forgive himself.

Carrying the weight of the girl and the guilt, he began walking towards the now silent audience. He had a lot of explaining to do.

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_A/N: I'm gonna split this into two or so parts because this is getting really long. I hope you enjoyed the angst fest so far! Dang, I'm twisted. :3 Leave feedback?_


	2. Chapter 2

Raindrops lightly splattered against the window pane. They weren't heavy drops, just small and weightless. What little mass they actually had had sent them falling towards the ground. Falling...falling...falling...

"Cunningham, Driscoll's coming!"

She was falling again, rushing to meet the ground. He caught her, met with no resistance. Limbs fell limp against his chest and her face held the most peaceful expression he'd ever seen. Then he was falling...falling...falling...

"Hey, can you hear me Cunningham?"

His actions sent him reeling, tumbling head over heels into the painful reality. The girl was dead because of him. What kind of person was he? What made him better than the criminals in jail cells held for committing a similar horror? How could he ever find forgiveness? Would he ever find forgiveness? And he was falling again, hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speeds. He killed a civilian. He was no hero.

"Mr. Cunningham, would you care to answer the second question?" Mrs. Driscoll's voice cut through Randy's thoughts, snapping him back to reality. Startled, he slipped off of the lab stool and was sent crashing to the floor with a surprised yelp. Flesh met linoleum tiles as he slammed face first onto the ground. Pain flared in the afflicted area as his classmates tried to contain their snickers. Randy groaned as a shadow passed over him. Looking up, he met the science teacher's gaze. He mused that it must have been a funny sight: a tall lanky teen sprawled on the floor under a lab bench.

Hilarious.

"Mr. Cunningham," Mrs. Driscoll chastised, "I suggest you start paying attention in my class. You could use the grade boost."

"You could use a boost off the floor too!" Jerry Driscoll chimed in with the help of Mrs. Driscoll's hand and voice. The teacher offered a hand to Randy, noticing the bruise forming on his face. Randy thanked whatever was out there that his nose didn't break or start bleeding.

The gratitude was short lived as he went to take Mrs. Driscoll's offer of help. He extended his dominant hand only to flinch and recoil. His eyes widened as he realized that he landed on it after his fall. Cradling the abused wrist, he gave Mrs. Driscoll what he hoped was an apologetic expression. She scrunched her lips together. The class had stopped stifling their laughter and was now gazing at him with concern.

"Um..." Randy started, "Can I go to the nurse?" Pain radiated from his wrist. He hoped it wasn't broken. That wouldn't be good if a monster decided to attack and he had to go Ninja sometime soon.

"Of course," she said with a nod. Randy picked himself off the floor, right hand pressed to his midsection. This was too familiar. His side and chest tingled from their old wounds. The glint of the claws and the finishing blow-

"Mrs. Driscoll, can I bring him there?" Howard asked. "Y'know, just in case he passes out or something. He's been off all day." On any other day, the science teacher would have said no. One look into her student's blue eyes changed her mind. She saw something beyond physical pain, something she wasn't trained to deal with. Yet she noticed the signs and she knew that the boy really needed a friend right now.

"Alright Mr. Weinerman," Mrs. Driscoll replied with a ghost of a smile. "Just be back before the class ends. It shouldn't take you thirty minutes to escort your friend to the nurse's office." If she was being honest, she was expecting Howard to return just as the bell rang for the next class. She wouldn't protest. She'd rather have Randy with someone he could talk to right now.

As Randy left the room with Howard, she couldn't help but send a worried glance his way. The boy hadn't been himself all week. Instead of cracking jokes and exchanging whispered conversations with his friend, he'd been taking down notes (real notes, not doodles of French narwhals and ninja pirates) and wistfully staring out of the newly repaired window. She confronted him once about his behavior, but he shrugged it off as lack of sleep or high school stress. While she did notice the darkening bags under his eyes, she also noticed how loose his already small clothes were getting and his increased social withdrawal. He used to be the extrovert of the class, the most confident student in her class. He greeted people with a friendly smile and a wave. She didn't believe he had the capacity to hate someone. Now, his eyes darted around the classroom and he sat hunched over the lab bench. He would only talk to people when they talked to him. It was like he was trying to cut himself off from society.

At first, Mrs. Driscoll believed his excuses. It was typical for all freshmen to undergo the six week slump. The work starts to catch up with them and the stress sets in. Whatever was happening to her student was not a result of high school. There was something deeper going on, something she couldn't imagine. This behavior had been developing for the last week and a half. She felt ashamed that she hadn't realized her student's suffering sooner. It was time to do the next best thing.

After assigning the rest of the class to the new lab work (preparing _Brassica rapa_ for the week), she picked up her classroom phone. Her fingers darted over the numbers for the principal's office as she placed the receiver next to her ear. Three rings later, she got a reply.

"Hello, Mr. Slimovitz speaking."

"Hi, it's Marilyn Driscoll," she said quietly. After making sure her class was busy with their assignment, she turned her attention back to the phone.

"Marilyn, what seems to be the problem?"

"My students aren't acting up." She sighed before continuing. Lowering her voice, she explained, "You see, one of my students hasn't been himself for over a week. I didn't notice how bad it was until now. I just think he needs someone to talk to or a visit to the school counselor. I'm worried about him."

"I see," Principal Slimovitz responded after a beat. "Do you suspect child abuse or any serious home issues?"

"I don't think I can give an accurate assumption," she replied. What if Randy was being abused? If so, why had it taken until now for the signs to show? Plus, she had met his parents at parent teacher night and they were some of the nicest people in Norrisville. That couldn't be a possibility, right? Doubts and questions were flying through her head.

" Marilyn?" Slimovitz's voice cut through her musings.

"Sorry, I was thinking," she offered as an explanation. "I think we should have him talk to the school counselor first before contacting his parents. If something is happening at home, it's best to keep it under wraps."

"Ok, I'll call him to the office at the end of the day. What's his name?"

"Randy-"

"Cunningham, what's up?" Howard asked as the two friends made their way down the deserted hallway. "You've been acting really weird lately. You know, like bad weird. As in, you're acting like Bucky without his triangle or Flute Girl without her flute or Julian without his-"

"Ok, I get it Howard!" Randy snapped, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway. Howard looked at him in shock. Cunningham never talked to him like that! Whatever was bugging his best bro was seriously wonk. "I'm sorry," he continued with a sigh, "I shouldn't have yelled at you." He began walking again, his head facing the ground. It took Howard a few seconds to register the fact that Randy wasn't paying attention to his existence. With a huff, he caught up to the taller boy.

"So, you wanna tell me what's bothering you or are you gonna keep shoobing me off without an explanation?" Irritation seeped into his voice and Randy flinched. Howard raised an eyebrow at his friend's behavior. "Hey," he started calmly, "I'm not mad or anything. I just want to know what's bugging you. You've been like this ever since the last monster fight." Again, Randy flinched. That was all the information Howard needed. He could easily admit that he was a bit of a numbskull at times, but this wasn't one of them. He pieced together the information he had. Randy had been acting weird ever since the fight and worse after the memorial service. This time, he actually figured it out with his mind. This time, he knew what happened. But he still didn't know the details and, with someone like Randy, the details were the important part of the story. "Cunningham…what exactly happened in that fight?"

The wall came falling down. Every carefully laid brick and mortar lining tumbled through the air and shattered upon impact. Randy was out of excuses. He didn't want to remember the burden he carried. He didn't want to think about how easy it was to kill her, how seamlessly his blade went through her head. Black locks of hair floated to the ground soon doused by the never ending red. There had been blood, more blood than Randy had seen in all of his life. It was disturbing, horrifying even, and he was the one who had done it. He was the one to blame.

With an anguished scream, he smashed his already injured hand into a nearby locker. The blue painted metal rattled as another fist connected with its smooth surface. For the first time since the incident, he let the tears fall. He didn't even acknowledge Howard's concerned gaze.

"It told me…I had no choice," Randy sputtered out through his muffled cries. He let himself sink to the floor, sitting up against the locker he previously abused. "The Nomicon, it told me there was no other way…that she would destroy everything." He lifted his head to meet his friend's gaze. "The worst part…the worst part…I looked into her eyes and I could…I could just tell…" He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence through his choked sobs.

"What?" Howard asked, kneeling beside Randy. In all of his life, he'd never seen his bromigo act this way. He was determined to get to the bottom of it. "Dude, what happened?" There were whispers around the two teenagers. Students from nearby classrooms had gathered in the hall, forming a semicircle in the once empty hall. Murmurs were weaving throughout the crowd. Howard caught some words, mostly "He's insane!" and "What's his name?" Ignoring the growing number of high school students surrounding them, he asked again in a whisper. "Cunningham, what happened?" With a shudder, Randy finally responded.

"She wanted me to kill her," he barely managed to reply, "And I did. And…it was too easy Howard; it was too honkin' easy…" Howard could only watch as his friend shivered in fear. His eyes glazed over, unfocused, and he continued to mutter under his breath. "Does this make me a bad person? Will I have to do it again? I…I don't think I could live through doing it again. I didn't ask for this, didn't ask to be the Ninja. I didn't want this. I…Do you hate me? Does everyone hate me? I think I do, I really think I do…"

The broken sentences rambled on and on. Pleas for help and forgiveness were mixed in with self-loathing and anxiety. Howard didn't have the slightest clue of what to do. Nobody ever taught him how to console someone suffering from mental trauma. He'd just have to try his best.

"Hey Cunningham," he said softly, "don't beat yourself up over it. Look, if you didn't do it then Norrisville would probably be destroyed right now. You did save a lot of people."

"I just…she shouldn't have died," Randy mumbled. Both teens heard some shouts coming from the middle of the student body. Their heads snapped towards the noise and they watched Principal Slimovitz claw his way through the crowd. Once he finally pushed through the final wall of students, he turned his back to Howard and Randy.

"Alright everyone, nothing to see here!" he shouted over the masses. "Get back to class or you will all go to the underground detention rooms!" The upper classmen didn't need to be told twice. Within seconds, the hallway was cleared. The seniors even took pity on the clueless freshman and told them to scram. Various papers floated through the air as the last of the students left. One freshman rushed out of their classroom to grab one of the airborne pages they had left behind in their haste. With a sheepish smile, he shoved it back into his multicolored messenger bag and sprinted back to the safety of their geometry class. Once Slimovitz was satisfied with the results, he turned his attention to the two boys.

"Um…are there really underground detention rooms?" Howard asked with a cringe. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to know the answer. The underground gym was bad enough…

"Oh don't worry, I'm not sending you there!" the principal replied with a grin. This did nothing to help the growing knot in Howard's stomach. "Now, what happened out here? The teachers told me that they heard a bang and saw your friend (he pointed to Randy) punch a locker."

"Yeah, about that…"

"I'm sorry Principal Slimovitz, I didn't mean to disturb anyone," Randy spoke up. His eyes never left the far wall as he talked. "Whatever punishment you have for me, go for it." Howard noted the resignation in his friend's tone. Slimovitz sighed and crouched to Randy's eye level.

"I'm not going to punish you," he stated quietly. "Nobody got hurt and you didn't vandalize the locker. You probably hurt yourself more than anything else." Both Slimovitz and Howard eyed the bruises forming on Randy's knuckles. "What's your name?"

"Randy Cunningham." His voice was dead, void of all emotions. He'd burned them all out in his breakdown. He was numb again. He welcomed it.

Slimovitz's eyes lit up in recognition. He turned to the boy next to Randy. "And you?"

"Howard Weinerman…sir," he replied quickly. Ah, Weinerman…this must be Heidi's brother.

"Howard, could you go tell Mrs. Driscoll that Randy will be with me? I'll make sure he gets to the nurse." With a quick nod, Howard stood up and began walking back the way he came. As much as he wanted to stay with Cunningham, he thought it was best to leave. Randy's outburst scared and worried him beyond reason, especially now that he knew what happened. There had to be some way to help his friend. No sane person could live with the guilt of taking another's life.

Steeling his resolve, Howard promised to help Randy no matter what.

* * *

Both student and principal walked through the halls in silence. The high pitched, out of tune bell rang and teens rushed off to their next class. Some spared the purple haired kid a glance, shooting him an _"Ouch dude…"_ expression and pitying his position. Randy simply sighed and looked at the floor. He knew he wasn't in trouble, but guilt was gnawing away at his heart. It had been for a while. Principal Slimovitz noticed the teen's downtrodden expression.

"Randy…can I call you that?" he asked. Over the years, he'd learned that students liked to go by the craziest names (some boy named Alfie liked to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All). After receiving a slight nod, he continued. "Well Randy, I just want you to know that you can talk to any of us. Your teachers are here for you. The school counselor is always willing to lend an ear and if you want to talk to me, go ahead. Whatever's going through your mind, you don't have to face alone."

Randy stayed in his hunched position. He appreciated the offer, he really did, but there were only two people that could help him: Howard and the NinjaNomicon. Nobody else could know his secret and nobody else would understand what it felt like to be a murderer. Howard and the Nomicon probably didn't either, but they were the best for the job. He knew he'd let his depression go too far, but it was hard to come out of it. In order to stop moping around, he would have to forgive himself for what happened.

He knew it was impossible.

Realizing he still owed the principal an answer, he mumbled a quick thank you. The two males stopped outside of a blue painted door with the title of "NURSE". Looking at the principal, Randy offered a small smile. "Thanks...but I'm not sure if you can help with this. It's kinda…" He struggled to find the words. "I guess…weird is the best way to put it. I'll just go now." Without hesitation, he slid into the nurse's office and left his troubled principal behind.

"This is more serious than I thought," Slimovitz said to himself as he began the walk to his office. "I'll call him over the P.A. later. This is starting to sound like child abuse and if so, it's very recent." He stopped mid-stride. Why would the abuse start now? Why were the signs showing up now? Maybe everything went too far and he'd cracked. Perhaps the stress of high school was the final straw. Slimovitz hoped this was the worst case scenario. After shouting at two numbskulls for throwing spitballs on the ceiling, he decided to do some research. Maybe the boy's other teachers had noticed something.

* * *

"What's your name?" the nurse asked kindly. Randy had never been to the nurse's office before, but the woman seemed nice enough. She was short with mousy gray hair pulled back into a messy bun. The wrinkles on her face creased just the right way, emphasizing a smile fit for the world's best grandma. Come to think of it, she did remind him of his grandma.

"Randy Cunningham," he replied. She smiled at him before grabbing a clipboard.

"I just need you to write your name and grade here," she said, pointing to an empty grid column with her pen. "Put your medical issue here and the time over here. Ok honey?" That's it; this woman was definitely a grandma! Randy briefly wondered if she made homemade cookies before reaching to take the pen and clipboard.

He instantly regretted it as a burning pain rushed through his hand. Right, that's why he was here. Trying to hide his grimace, he forced another false smile as he saw concern flit across the nurse's features. "I'm ok," he assured her. She shot him a disbelieving expression and began writing on the clipboard herself.

"Randy Cunningham…what grade are you in?" She looked up from the clipboard, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Nine," he responded. The nurse motioned for him to sit in the chair behind him and he slumped into it almost immediately. It wasn't like those uncomfortable chairs attached to the desks in the classrooms; it was one of those cheap armchairs. It wouldn't last more than five years, but it was ten times more comfortable than sitting on hard plastic. Since he was so tall, the desks were even more irritable than for others. He could never get into a good position and his legs were always crammed underneath two inch thick wood…

"9th grade…let's see, it's 12:12 now," the nurse mumbled under her breath. "Now," she stated, addressing Randy, "what seems to be the problem?" The query shook Randy from his musings and he jumped slightly at the direct interaction.

"Um…I kinda fell off my stool in science and landed on it," he explained sheepishly. He wasn't going to say why he fell because it would make everything way more embarrassing. His day was wonk enough. He didn't need to add complete humiliation to it.

"And you knuckles?" Ok, this lady was definitely a grandma. He couldn't hide anything from her!

"I…um…had a bad encounter with a volley ball?" he offered, flashing a somewhat innocent smile. The nurse wasn't amused.

"If you want to lie to someone with over twenty years in the practice, I'd suggest you take acting lessons," she deadpanned, jotting something down on the clipboard. With Randy's luck, it was probably something along the lines of "numbskull accident". Placing the items down, she walked over to the teen. "Let me see your wrist." Relinquishing his limb to her prodding, he tried to ignore the pain throbbing through his arm. His thoughts drifted as she surveyed his knuckles. It would have been cool to get the injuries from a monster fight. He'd be gloating to Howard about how he won, how the robot exploded into millions of tiny pieces or how Bucky was trapped in the girls' locker room naked again. He and his friend would have laughed off the event, created inside jokes and had fun with it, just like always.

None of that had happened after the incident.

Had he been in a different state of mind, he would have realized how odd the week had been. He was too guilt-ridden to notice nobody getting stanked or attacked by McFist robots. He would have sensed the lack of green magic in the air or the urgency of the Nomicon. A lot of things could have happened, but didn't. Instead, he was getting patched up in the nurse's office for some of the stupidest injuries Norrisville has ever known. Instead, he was just some depressed kid trying to cope with something far greater than he could have ever imagined.

He had been Randy Cunningham all week.

The Ninja hadn't appeared once.

Nobody noticed except for one. Currently, he was laughing his head off underneath the foundation of the high school. Licking his dry lips, he feasted on the best meal he'd had in a long time: Randy Cunningham's misery.

In the safety of nurse's office, Randy was getting his wrist bandaged. Simultaneously, the Nomicon screamed.

And just like before, nobody noticed a thing.

* * *

_A/N: UPDATE! Happy 12/12/12 everyone! Wow, I'm totally gonna make this way longer than I planned. I mean, look at this chapter: 4,000 words! You forgive me? :3_

_But seriously, this is going in a direction that I hadn't planned for. Originally, this chapter was going to have some Sentient!Nomicon comforting Randy and having the story end there. My imagination decided to turn this in another direction. So yeah, the Sorcerer's gonna show up, Maddie's funeral will be mentioned and hopefully, I can add a tiny bit of humor to lighten the mood. I hope the parts that were supposed to be funny in this chapter came through. Hey, I tried!_

_Also, sorry for any typos 'cause I'm sure there will be a few scattered here and there. I'm tired, kill me. :P_

_In other news, I'm gonna start a oneshot series soon for RC9GN, so watch out for that! ;)_


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